Faridabad MC rushes tenders ahead of polls

The work on the floating of new tenders for development works in various wards of the city has begun following the chances of announcement of the elections for the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF).

As many as 73 tenders worth around Rs 50 crore have been released, perhaps, due to pressure from the political quarters in view of the elections expected to be held within 8-10 weeks.

According to sources in the district administration, the MC authorities have been asked to speed up the process of carrying out or completing the pending works related to civic amenities in various wards so that it benefits candidates of the ruling party as the pace of work had been almost been sluggish for the past over two and half years. The MCF had been functioning without elected members.

The tenders released by the department concerned in the past two days are related to roads, drinking water and sewage networks in various parts of the city.

These are aimed to complete various schemes, including the Atal Renovation and Urban Transformation Mission, which was launched in the urban areas falling in the Tigaon Assembly segment

in 2018.

While a budget of Rs 90 crore has been announced, it involved laying of 147-km pipeline.

The work on laying of a 15-km pipeline is reported to be pending.

The installation of 20 new water tubewells to enhance the supply in wards 23, 24 and 25 is proposed to be taken up.

The work of laying sewer lines and stormwater drains that had been halted is also proposed to be started soon.

While the notification for the elections is likely to be issued anytime, the civic body will not be able to release new tenders after the notification, says Yogesh Dhingra, a former elected member of the MCF.

He said the development works had also remained adversely affected for several months since March this year in view of the Parliamentary and Assembly poll process.

As the tenure of the last elected civic body had come to an end in February 2022, the delay or failure to have fresh elections led to filing of a petition in the high court, which has directed the authorities concerned to submit a reply in this regard soon.

Paras Bhardwaj, a petitioner, said the Urban Local Bodies Department had been under pressure to carry out the development work that had not been completed for long.

Moreover, the MCF poll had not been conducted for long, which was a blatant violation of the constitutional norms, he added.

MCF Chief Engineer Birender Kardam said the process of the floating of tenders for development works was underway.